HAND hires new executive director

Hamilton County Area Neighborhood Development has a new executive director.

Jennifer Miller, former assistant director of economic and community development for Westfield, will join the not-for-profit Sept. 12, the board of directors for HAND announced Monday.

Miller has worked for the city of Westfield since 2006. Prior to that, she worked as a planner and GIS specialist in Michigan.

"HAND has a stellar reputation for building quality, affordable housing, and adding spark and character to neighborhoods,” Miller said in a prepared statement. “I am honored to guide such a valuable organization into its next phase and look forward to an exciting future."

The position became open after Nate Lichti announced in March that he would resign to work for a regional not-for-profit organization. Lichti had served in the role since 2012.

He left in April to work as the director of real estate services for Indiana for the Illinois Facilities Fund, which builds not-for-profit capacity throughout the Midwest.

“I have appreciated the opportunity to work with many of you who share my passion for community development,” Lichti said in a prepared statement when his departure was announced. “Over the past four years we have worked to broaden the base of support and expand HAND's relevance in Hamilton County. While not every effort yielded a ‘house’, we changed a lot of hearts and minds.”

HAND regularly invests in neighborhoods to provide housing solutions for those in need. The organization owns nearly 100 units in Sheridan, Cicero and Noblesville.

Most recently, HAND tried to secure federal funding to redevelop an old grain elevator site near downtown Noblesville and revitalize the old Adams Township School in Sheridan. But both projects fell through after the federal tax credit application was denied.